Neighbors

                To be perfectly honest, I’m not a big fan of Seth Rogen or some of his big start-up films. While I found “Knocked-Up” and “Pineapple Express” to be…okay at best, other films like “Super Bad,” “The Guilt Trip,” and “Funny People” didn’t seem to click in with me, despite what they were trying to represent. Hell, I still haven’t forgiven him for “The Green Hornet” and “The Watch,” which were two of the most embarrassing disgraces to film making I’ve ever seen. However, I will admit that films afterward like “Paul,” “50/50,” and even “This is the End” did manage to get me in a cheery mood. Which brings us to the next film he’s produced and starred in, “Neighbors.”

                When the trailer started to hit theaters, I didn’t really expect that much to come from the film. While it did have Zac Efron as the bad-guy in the film, I wasn’t quite warmed up to Rogen, despite the three films I did enjoy. Not only that, but it was directed by Nicholas Stoller, the guy who directed “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “The Five-Year Engagement,” so it was a game of chance. With that in mind, I decided to give it a chance, since I’m going into college this fall, and see if it could make me laugh, especially with the amount of praise it’s been getting.

                In this film, Seth Rogen plays the typical family man, who tries to have fun even if he’s got a child. Sad thing is he doesn’t have the fun. Soon enough, a fraternity moves into the neighborhood, and they try to make peace with each other, but as you would expect, it gets into a big war between family and fraternity.

                Now, was this film funny? Yes, it definitely was. Sure, it’s sophomoric humor, and it has its moments of being completely dumb, but that’s what I loved most about it. It’s basically a battle between neighbors that gets so over-the-top dumb that all I could do is laugh. Granted, a good portion of jokes seem to come out flat, they do make up for it with many others that really make it all the more hilarious.

                While Rogen does basically play the same guy from his previous films, it was definitely done better this time around, than in others. There were some very funny lines he brings, and the delivery does work to his advantage. I was also impressed Rose Byrne as Rogen’s wife. You’d think she’d be the standard “do good mom,” but she does allow herself to have some fun in this film, and just be on top as Rogen is…no sex-pun intended. Ike Barinholtz and Carla Gallo also bring in some good chemistry, playing family friends, even after a divorce between them, leading to a whole bunch of great sight gags that make the film even more chaotic.

                With the frat boys, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Dave Franco really add great support for the fraternity, being the two hand men and taking on the responsibility whenever Efron isn’t around. Speaking of which, Zac Efron steals the show, BY FAR! His character, I don’t even know how to properly describe. In a way, he’s kind of like Rogen’s opposite, fearing that who they are currently, is what they fear of being like. It adds a lot of thought to a film, where frat boys raise money for bills by selling homemade dildos……yes, you heard right.

                Overall, that’s all I can probably muster about “Neighbors.” It was a funny film to watch, and I’m glad I was able to catch it with some of my old friends. If you’re a fan of Rogen, you’ll enjoy this; if not, then I’d suggest something else.

Rating: 8/10